Overview

If you wish to develop your company abroad, BEFORE contacting any Consultant or adviser, including SEDI, it is highly necessary to clarify some major issues first as it may have consequences on a Tax point of view :

Your activity abroad :

Services provider OR selling / distributing goods – materials

Representation of your foreign company ONLY, OR developing a new commercial venture

Commercial & Marketing policy : please specify your commercial cycle.

Who will be searching new clients ?

Who will be in charge of negociating tariffs ?

Who will be decision maker in terms of confirming the order to the client and preparing specifications ?

Where is based the product or who will be providing the service ?

Where will be generated the added value ?

Who will be the main contact for the client ?

Who will be invoicing ?

Clients & Suppliers :

Who are your suppliers and subcontractors : in which country are they based ?

Who are your clients and in which country will you be supplying services / goods ?

Local team :

Are you planning to recruit locally or will you be transferring existing employee(s) to yournewly established office ?

Job profiles ?

Will you be contracting with agents ?

Once you have more or less clarified your exact project, please refer to our free information leaflets to get familiar to local specificities and feel free to give us a call in order we clarify and define a time frame for your project.

Non Stable Establishments – Only for representation purposes

1) The RFE – Representative Foreign Company: Acts on behalf of the foreign company and reverts all development issues for validation to the Parent Company. Can not be in charge of the whole commercial cycle or the Parent Company may risk a Tax requalification into a stable establishment.

2) The Liaison Office / Representative Office: Official Local Office only allowed to represent the Parent Company in terms of Marketing and B to B / C development. More than one individual can be employed by the Liaison Office. Can not be in charge of the whole commercial cycle or the Parent Company may risk a Tax requalification into a stable establishment.

Stable Establishments – French GAAP compliance

3) The Subsidiary:A French fully registered company whose registered /paid up capital is partially or fully owned by the parent company (ref: How to form SARL). Submitted to French accounting regulations & to French corporation taxes.

4) The Branch: Foreign Establishment - No paid up capital in France. Submitted to French accounting regulations & to French corporation taxes.

5) The Fiscal Representative/Agent: Its role is to represent the Foreign Parent company for Tax & VAT issues when a stable establishent is not registered locally & when business transactionsare requiring Tax & VAT to be declared locally.